Thursday, January 16, 2014

"I found my Christmas present!" I happily announced when I arrived home from a grocery shopping trip in late November/early December.
"At Martin's?" my husband asked part sarcastic, part mildly surprised.
"Yes, in the paperback book section," I replied. "They have a Grimm novel!"
I was so excited when I saw the images of Nick and Hank (actually the actors who play them) on the cover of a book! As you all know from previous posts, there are two seasons at our house. The short-lived season that begins when we finally get to purchase the previously aired series of NBC's Grimm on Blu-ray. It ends a very short time later when we finish watching it all. The other season is the rest of the year when we experience "Grimm withdrawal" in which we typically find other forms of entertainment, including reading books inspired by Brothers' Grimm tales.
I couldn't believe there was actually a novel with an original story based on the Grimm television series - something to get us through the "withdrawal season".
I did receive the gift and finished reading it today. Here's my review:
So, this wasn't the first Grimm inspired novel and I'm glad it won't be the last. Not because this one was fabulous . . . it was okay, but because the next one will be written by a different author. Ouch-was that a bit cruel?
I don't necessarily mean to say that John Shirley is a terrible author, I just don't think he was the right person to pen an original story based on the Grimm T.V. series.
As a huge fan of the show, I felt Shirley was not able to capture the characters the way I (or other fans) know them. I mean the story itself was okay, the plot was fine, the fighting was very Grimm-like, but the dialogue was mostly just forced and weird (i.e. jokes they wouldn't make, goofy comments that wouldn't happen in the show, etc.).
I didn't think the way Nick, Hank or Monroe spoke was very true to the characters we've come to know and love on the show.
Rosalee and Juliette were hardly in it and nothing like their normal "strong women" selves. They were only in the book briefly for the purpose of adoring their men.
My other issue was that there were a couple of instances in the story that didn't jive with the show - am I the only one who thinks Nick is supposed to be an actual descendent of the Brothers' Grimm and that they, too, were Wesen fighters? This novel flatly refutes that.
And does anyone really believe that Nick's mom would ever do anything as stupid as keeping the coins in a safe deposit box/letting them be stolen?! That's so ridiculous.
Again, the writing isn't complete trash, it just isn't that of someone who is a Grimm fan or even a regular viewer. It's written by someone who is an okay writer, but doesn't really know the show or the characters at all.
Like I said, I'm expectantly waiting for the next book to see if that author, John Passarella, will do more justice to the show, the characters, and the fans by writing a better book.